We tend to think of Idaho as a solidly red state. It has voted for the Republican nominee for president in the last 14 election cycles, and a group of Oregon counties views it as conservative enough to try to secede from Oregon and join Idaho.
Idaho’s conservative reputation makes a lawsuit involving the state’s Army National Guard so shocking. An officer is suing Idaho’s governor and two generals based on the allegation that the guard removed him from command because of his Christian faith.
Liberty Counsel is representing the officer, and it announced last month:
Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit on behalf of an Idaho Army National Guard infantry officer against Governor Brad Little and two army generals for unlawfully removing the officer from command solely due to his personal Christian expression on biblical sexuality made outside of the military environment. An investigation into the officer, which revealed no wrongdoing, nevertheless recommended a policy to monitor potential candidates for command for any “concerning ideologies” as a way of “rooting out” any “extremism” in the ranks. In this case, the decision to remove him from command on this basis shows that his superiors believe his Bible-centered beliefs on sexuality to be concerning and essentially puts an unconstitutional “No Christians in Command” policy into action.
Major David Worley ran for mayor of Pocatello, Idaho, and during his campaign, he spoke out against drag queen story hours, explicit material in public libraries, and transgender treatments for children. He made all of those statements outside of his duties with the Idaho Army National Guard.
Worley’s campaign statements caught the ear of a gay man under Worley’s command, and he filed a discrimination complaint. The Idaho Army National Guard suspended Worley from command in July 2023 following the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that leadership “recommended that all candidates for command be scrutinized to ensure that their Christian beliefs, views, or expression are discovered prior to be given command and reported to the Department of Defense for investigation of concerning extremist activity.” The investigating officer “recommended that there be No Christians in Command in the Idaho Army National Guard because of their ‘concerning ideologies.’”
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Naturally, Worley’s removal from command concerned his adherence to biblical standards of sexuality. After all, that’s the line that the world loves to draw these days. In the eyes of the world, Christians who affirm LGBTQ (and sometimes Y) lifestyles are just fine, while Christians who don’t are dangerous “Christian nationalists” who want to establish a theocracy. However, announcing one’s beliefs doesn’t equal discrimination.
Worley is on the frontlines of this fight, but it’s about more than one man. A “No Christians in Command” policy discriminates against plenty of qualified individuals who would miss out on the chance to lead. The Constitution guarantees us freedom to believe what we want to believe, and that doesn’t stop when one puts on a uniform.
Idaho’s legislators are aware of the suit:
What happened to @DavidTWorley was a violation of our Constitution and Idaho legislators are aware of the injustice. https://t.co/Fnmhz8w2jU pic.twitter.com/TzyZJM9BpD
— Idaho Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucusID) January 31, 2025
PJ Media reached out to the Idaho Army National Guard for comment, and the public affairs officer said that he couldn’t comment on pending litigation.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said:
The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that military members do not shed their constitutional rights when they step forward to serve the nation. Nor are the military departments immune to the laws protecting their individual freedoms. By suspending and removing Major David Worley from command over his Christian beliefs, the Idaho Army National Guard informally adopted an unconstitutional ‘No Christians in Command’ policy. The Constitution simply does not allow the military to punish those with sincerely held religious beliefs or to specifically target religion for disparate and discriminatory treatment. Governor Brad Little must ensure that the Idaho Army National Guard upholds federal and state law and protects the free speech of its service members. This discrimination against Major Worley must stop and his record must be cleared and his career restored.
We’ll keep an eye on this story and keep you posted. Hopefully, we’ll have good news to report as this suit goes to court.
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